After yet another fiasco against Greece at the Aviva Stadium on Friday night, spirits were low ahead of Ireland's trip to face Gibraltar in a dead rubber EURO 2024 qualifier on Monday.
It feels as though Ireland only play games against Gibraltar at their lowest points and, with automatic qualification for next summer's EUROs now officially mathematically out of the question, it was widely accepted ahead of kick-off that the Stephen Kenny era is coming to an end.
Of course, the draw which befell Ireland for this qualifying campaign was an extraordinarily tough one, with France and the Netherlands both involved, but the performances have nonetheless been abject on many occasions this year, and it is tough to see Kenny surviving the latest ordeal.
The inquest into the failings of this and the previous qualifying campaign will no doubt dominate the coming months and, ahead of kick-off for Ireland's assignment against Gibraltar, the RTÉ panel assessed the lingering damage from Friday night's defeat.
Assessing the qualifying campaign as a whole, Shay Given said that he was frustrated to compare Ireland to their nearby rivals of Scotland and Wales, both of whom have enjoyed far better results than Stephen Kenny's side on the road to EURO 2024.
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Gibraltar v Ireland: Shay Given bemoans current level of Irish team
For the first time since 1997, Scotland have managed to secure automatic qualification for a major tournament, impressing in a tricky qualifying group featuring Spain and Erling Haaland's Norway.
Wales have enjoyed similarly memorable moments in their campaign, with a shock win over World Cup semi-finalists Croatia on Sunday night putting them within touching distance of matching the achievement of Scotland.
Do Ireland belong with the minnows of European football? Shay Given and Stephen Kelly discuss.#RTESoccer #COYBIG pic.twitter.com/wdGGXIMfSp
— RTÉ Soccer (@RTEsoccer) October 16, 2023
Speaking on RTÉ 2 pre-match on Monday, Shay Given bemoaned the fact that Ireland had been overtaken by Scotland and Wales, and said that - on paper, at least - they had the tools at hand to match the performances of both teams:
If you listen to the manager, he always talks about blooding new, young players, giving out caps, changing the style of play...but there's nothing getting away from the results.
At the end of the day, you can play long ball, you can play short ball, you can keep the ball but, at the end of the day for me, it's about qualifying and giving yourself belief, giving yourself some sort of foundation to go into a major tournament.
Look at Wales last night, they beat Croatia, and look at their team. I don't think that Wales team is a better team than us, and they're up there challenging.
Scotland have qualified the other night as well. These teams are probably on the same par as us, and you've mentioned us with the minnows. We shouldn't be anywhere near the minnows.
Ireland did of course beat Scotland 3-0 in Dublin only last June, but the gulf in class between the two sides was somewhat exposed in the return fixture at Hampden Park, which the Scots saw out 2-1.
With Ireland, Scotland, and Wales all part of the five-pronged EURO 2028 hosting team, it will be a major aim for the FAI to get Ireland back to the level of their counterparts over the coming five years.
It remains to be seen whether Stephen Kenny will be given until the end of 2023 with this Irish team, as had previously been suggested, and the painful memories of this qualifying campaign will no doubt sit with fans for quite some time.
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